What We’re Looking For: Fiction, Lumina XIV

I’ll keep this short, because ultimately what I’m looking for in a submission is not necessarily what I think I want from a piece of writing, but what moves me and stays with me long after I’ve reached the final period. Just like our Fiction Editor last year, I’m very open-minded. There is no particular formula or outline to follow. Rather, what it really comes down to is how you as a writer put words together in a sentence, on a page.

But, to placate those still thinking “but what do they want?!,” here are a few pointers:

At the very core, I’m looking for a good story, told extremely well.

Attention to detail is non-negotiable. We take the time to read every story, so please take the time to make sure it’s not sloppy or haphazardly constructed. Is your piece at the place that we as writers often reach when you know you have turned over every comma and adjective and think I’ve done all I can? If the answer to that is yes, there is no more to be done now, then press send on Submittable. If you think meh, good enough, maybe give it another look.

Again, to echo our Fiction Editor from last year, I want to read a sentence and be a little irritated that I didn’t write it, or think of that comparison, or that character quirk. That is the type of writing that stays with me after that fact, and that is the type of story I want to publish.

Submitting a piece to a journal is a very intimate, vulnerable thing to do as a writer. All I ask is that you trust that your writing is in good hands with us, and we’ll trust that you’ve given your submission everything you’ve got.